Already ensconced in controversy and veiled in complexity,
volatility ETNs
arguably suffered a major blow today as the VelocityShares
Daily 2x VIX Short-Term ETN (NYSE:
TVIX ) has become the story du jour for plunging over 25%. Volume
in
TVIX has reached more than double the daily average and
there's still time left in the trading day.
While
TVIX isn't an exchange-traded product most investors
are familiar with, the ETN's lack of popularity prior to today
belies its size. Simply put,
TVIX was not a small ETN at the start of today. In
fact, it had over $500 million in AUM. That's almost the same size
as the Market Vectors Indonesia ETF (NYSE:
IDX).
What folks are having a hard time understanding is how is
TVIX getting taken to the woodshed while ETNs such as
the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (NYSE:
VXX) and the
iPath S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN (NYSE:
VXZ) are trading
higher. To be frank, all three have some of the ugliest charts
around.
As we noted earlier today,
TVIX 's bubble bursting has a lot to do with the fund
trading at rich premium to its net asset value, a situation brought
about by Credit Suisse (NYSE:
CS)
halting the creation of new
TVIX shares last month.
Speaking of Credit Suisse, it's may not be coincidence that its
U.S.-listed shares are trading down almost 2.4% as
TVIX plunges. ETN's are bond instruments, not funds,
and though ETNs pay no interest the way a corporate bond or a U.S.
Treasury does, by purchasing shares of
TVIX , one becomes an UNSECURED CREDITOR of Credit
Suisse. Translation: ALL ETNs have the potential to expose traders
and investors to credit risk.
Last month,
FT
Alphaville broached the subject of
TVIX buyers running into the ETN with Credit Suisse's
creation limit in mind. So it's not that far flung that
punishing
TVIX could be a method of backdoor shorting Credit
Suisse. At the very least, beating up
TVIXtoday has proven to be a small pain for Credit Suisse's
ADRs.
Along those lines, it would not be stunning to see Barclays
(NYSE:
BCS) trade lower
if VXZ ever experiences a day like
TVIX has today. Barclays is the parent company of
iPath. Buy VXZ or VXX and you become a Barclays creditor.
Oh yeah, that sigh of relief heard across the ETF universe today
came courtesy of ProShares and Direxion. The two largest U.S.
issuers of inverse and leveraged ETFs are probably quite happy
there's a new exchange-traded products whipping boy and it's
TVIX , not the Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares
(NYSE:
FAZ) or a similar
fund.
Interactive Brokers didn't have shares of TVIX to short
yesterday or today. Usually, they're good with finding shares to
borrow. At yesterday's close, TVIX was trading at a 89% premium to
its NAV. VIX APR'12 and MAY'12 futures were trading 20-40% premium
to VIX. With such high premiums and a negative roll yield, it was
extremely risky to hold TVIX long.
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TVIX
TVIX
Posted by zach06 on 22nd of Mar 2012 at 03:58 pm
Already ensconced in controversy and veiled in complexity, volatility ETNs arguably suffered a major blow today as the VelocityShares Daily 2x VIX Short-Term ETN (NYSE: TVIX ) has become the story du jour for plunging over 25%. Volume in TVIX has reached more than double the daily average and there's still time left in the trading day.
While TVIX isn't an exchange-traded product most investors are familiar with, the ETN's lack of popularity prior to today belies its size. Simply put, TVIX was not a small ETN at the start of today. In fact, it had over $500 million in AUM. That's almost the same size as the Market Vectors Indonesia ETF (NYSE: IDX).
What folks are having a hard time understanding is how is TVIX getting taken to the woodshed while ETNs such as the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (NYSE: VXX) and the iPath S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN (NYSE: VXZ) are trading higher. To be frank, all three have some of the ugliest charts around.
As we noted earlier today, TVIX 's bubble bursting has a lot to do with the fund trading at rich premium to its net asset value, a situation brought about by Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) halting the creation of new TVIX shares last month.
Speaking of Credit Suisse, it's may not be coincidence that its U.S.-listed shares are trading down almost 2.4% as TVIX plunges. ETN's are bond instruments, not funds, and though ETNs pay no interest the way a corporate bond or a U.S. Treasury does, by purchasing shares of TVIX , one becomes an UNSECURED CREDITOR of Credit Suisse. Translation: ALL ETNs have the potential to expose traders and investors to credit risk.
Last month, FT Alphaville broached the subject of TVIX buyers running into the ETN with Credit Suisse's creation limit in mind. So it's not that far flung that punishing TVIX could be a method of backdoor shorting Credit Suisse. At the very least, beating up TVIXtoday has proven to be a small pain for Credit Suisse's ADRs.
Along those lines, it would not be stunning to see Barclays (NYSE: BCS) trade lower if VXZ ever experiences a day like TVIX has today. Barclays is the parent company of iPath. Buy VXZ or VXX and you become a Barclays creditor.
Oh yeah, that sigh of relief heard across the ETF universe today came courtesy of ProShares and Direxion. The two largest U.S. issuers of inverse and leveraged ETFs are probably quite happy there's a new exchange-traded products whipping boy and it's TVIX , not the Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (NYSE: FAZ) or a similar fund.
Interactive Brokers didn't have shares
Posted by cw12 on 22nd of Mar 2012 at 04:16 pm
Interactive Brokers didn't have shares of TVIX to short yesterday or today. Usually, they're good with finding shares to borrow. At yesterday's close, TVIX was trading at a 89% premium to its NAV. VIX APR'12 and MAY'12 futures were trading 20-40% premium to VIX. With such high premiums and a negative roll yield, it was extremely risky to hold TVIX long.